sam2012

I am thinking about driving to DC from Springfield IL tomorrow for a 4 day family trip. The weather prediction is making me a little apprehensive. It would be great if any local can tell me if this is bad idea for now.

Also if I am making this trip, we plan to stay at the americana hotel. Your thoughts regarding this choice or any other suggestions will also be highly appreciated.

Thanks.

TravelNatty

What about the weather is making you apprehensive? It looks great to me - I'm actually excited to do some hiking on Sunday. That would be a good day to enjoy the zoo. The museums are great, even if there's a little bit of rain. Keep an eye on the weather via Capital Weather Gang.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...l-weather-gang

sam2012

Well Saturday and sunday looks OK, but monday does not. Are all the tourist places open during the weekends?

Thanks for the link.

tchoiniere

Except for the Capitol, everything is open all weekend. I say go for it

sam2012

Well, I guess I am going then.

Thanks tchoiniere. In my earlier thread about DC trip (which I could not make due to Sandy), you gave me a very nice itinerary, which I will be following this time.

Is the capitol tour worth it? I know I can make online reservations for the tour, however we are not US citizens. I work here with a valid work visa and my parents are visitors with valid tourist visa. Is that an issue for getting the tour?

Any other word of advice?

ElendilPickle

The Americana Hotel should be fine for your needs. We stayed there in 2011 and were very pleased with the price, the free breakfast, free wi-fi, etc.

We did our Capitol tour through our congressman's office, but the regular tour seemed to be quite good. I would go for it if you can get a reservation.

Lee Ann

tchoiniere

I agree with the Americana as well, having stayed there 3 times in the past 2 years. They have upgraded a lot of rooms since 2011 too. Enjoy your weekend.

I agree with Lee Ann on the Capitol tour too.

Just be flexible with your plans and willing to change if weather changes. Check to see if the Capitol Steps are playing Saturday night via Ticketmaster. Awesome comedy show blasting politics at the Ronald Reagan Building. Expensive but your ribs will hurt from laughing for 2 hours.

sam2012

Thanks both of you. Just booked the hotel and also made reservations for the capitol tour.

Here is what I have in my mind based on your earlier suggestions.

Saturday
All the monuments
White house walk by
Pentagon walk by/drive by (not sure if this is possible or not)

Sunday
Arlington Cemetary
Smithsonian museum

Monday
Capitol building tour
Another museum.

What do you think about this plan? Need to squeeze in time for national archives, but not sure how and when.

Also please tell me how do I go to all these places? Should I take my car or public transportation would be better? If public transportation is better, it would be great if you tell me where to catch the trains/buses.

Thanks again.

tchoiniere

Sounds good to me.

Maybe National Archives Saturday morning with Timed Tickets so you get right in then head to the Monuments including the White House. Id skip the Pentagon.

www.wmata.com has great info on where to catch Metro for the subway. Only way to get around DC.

My recommendations for Museums would be
Air & Space
American History
Portrait Gallery (heres a bonus - its open much later than the rest)

vjpblovesitaly

www.wmata.com is the website for Metrorai and Metrobus. www.hopstop.com might be helpful to you as well.

From the Lincoln Memorial to the Capitol Building is a little over two miles. Here is a map:

http://www.nps.gov/nama/planyourvisi...d/NACCmap1.pdf

Ignore the note that says the Portrait Gallery and Museum of American Art are closed - that is no longer true. Those are two great musuems by the way.

"Pentagon walk by/drive by (not sure if this is possible or not)"

There is a Metrorail Station at the Pentagon. You can take Metrorail to the Pentagon, get out and walk around and go to the 9/11 Memorial.

ElendilPickle

You'll be staying one or two stops from the Pentagon. Mr. Pickle did what vjplovesitaly suggested one morning and had no problems visiting the 9/11 memorial.

Lee Ann

sam2012

Thanks a lot again. Printed out the map. Should come in handy.

So for the pentagon or 9/11 memorial, do I need to do make arrangements in advance or just go there?

My dad says he is interested to see the library of congress as well. I understand it is a great thing to see, but is it worth my limited time?

vjpblovesitaly

http://www.whs.mil/memorial/
http://www.pentagonmemorial.net/

TravelNatty

Another tip - if you're doing museums on the mall and are looking for lunch - the American Indian museum has the best cafeteria. You may want to do Arlington Cemetary and 9/11 memorial on the same day. They're near each other, only a stop apart on the metro. The 9/11 memorial is outside. There are soooo many good Smithsonian museums, you can always throw more of them in there if you have extra time. American Art & Portrait Gallery are great museums (they're connected) - the building is really beautiful - but they're not on the mall with the other museums. They're in Chinatown; still easily reached via metro.

obxgirl

You can't tour the Pentagon without an advance reservation. The memorial is open every day.

You'll have nice weather this weekend.